GUEST COLUMN: Moving towards a better understanding

Saturday

Jun 13, 2015 at 8:22 AM

By Tahera SajidGuest writer

Just over two weeks ago, many of us were struggling to make sense, as police in riot gear stood guard watching armed protestors gather outside the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix (ICCP) in Arizona.

Then, three days later, the ICCP hosted a counter-protest of sorts, to promote interfaith harmony. Attended by more than 200 interfaith guests bearing flowers, the Love not Hate rally was hailed as having succeeded in making “goodness victorious.”

The high attendance at the peace rally was not entirely unexpected. Ironically, the seeds were sown at the anti-Islam protest led by Jon Ritzheimer, which reaffirmed two things: one, misinformation has the potential to create major conflict, and two, an open mind and an earnest desire to build bridges can effectively offset hateful rhetoric.

Not only had several interfaith groups turned up to support the Islamic Center, but when a couple of anti-Islam protestors accepted an invitation to attend a prayer service inside the mosque, they openly acknowledged having a change of heart about their negative tactics.

The anti-Islam protest also showed the admirable restraint Muslims observed in the face of overwhelming provocation and intimidation, and despite serious concerns for the safety of their families praying inside. One shudders to think what would have happened if their response had been similar in style to the protestors, with aims to enforce First Amendment though Second Amendment.

It would be relevant to explore why we got to the point where fellow Americans were pitted against each other in the first place.

Various studies have shown that an overwhelming majority of Americans of various persuasions have never interacted directly with a Muslim American. All they know are negative news stories of unspeakable atrocities taking place wherever extremists have succeeded in encroaching upon public space and established their tyranny in the name of Islam, or of individuals influenced by the extremist ideology. In the absence of other reference points, non-Muslim Americans end up stereotyping Muslim Americans based solely on that information. With such little exposure to the real Muslims forming an overwhelming majority one can hardly expect any validity to that assessment, yet it persists for many who are otherwise well-informed, reasonable individuals.

As for Jon Ritzheimer, listening to him speak to the media and expecting him to represent a hate monger’s narrative, I was taken by surprise. Even as he remained adamant about his stance of rooting out the “tyranny of Islam in America,” he did not appear to be consumed with irrational hatred and rage.

There was no doubting the genuineness of his concern for the safety of his family. Fear is known to cloud our judgment, and while one can criticize the man’s misguided perceptions or methods, who can fault a father for wanting to protect his children?

He even seemed to struggle a little when questioned about the possible repercussions of his actions, admitting he did not want war. As a war veteran, one can imagine he has seen too much of that already.

It saddened me to see how convinced he was of guilt by association of the whole Muslim community for the actions of the gunmen, despite finding no evidence of support from any Muslim group, but in fact, only condemnation. I wondered if he had ever interacted closely with a Muslim, or whether he based his judgment on the assertions of people whose sole mission in life seems to be promotion of hate.

Such incidents reiterate the need to acknowledge not only the importance of tolerance but, especially, our personal responsibility to reject hateful narratives and pursue the truth so that we don’t become unsuspecting pawns in other people’s games. Jon Ritzheimer and his family deserve to live without fear and practice “freedom of speech” just as much as the Phoenix Muslims deserve to practice their right to “free exercise of religion” free of intimidation. No one must feel justified to encroach upon the other’s rights.

Let us all pledge to support the process of building trust and peaceful coexistence by initiating honest dialogue at our individual and community levels. That is the only way forward.

Tahera Sajid is with the Sharon Pluralism Network. For more information, visit sharonpluralism.org.

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